Spotswood (21) at South River (13) - Football

There are only seven seniors listed on Spotswood’s 51-man roster, but three of them -- Dean Vitale, Dylan Lawless and Justin Hamann -- played major roles in the young team's 21-13 upset at Greater Middlesex Conference-Blue Division rival South River yesterday.

After South River had taken a 7-0 lead by driving 65 yards on the game’s opening drive, Spotswood scored 21 straight points in the second quarter, then held off a charging South River team, which hurt itself with three costly turnovers. Spotswood now trails in the all-time series, 29-6.

Vitale, an athletic 5-10, 160-pound quarterback, hit junior Jack Messeroll with a 39-yard touchdown pass to get Spotswood on the board. Lawless then returned an interception 43 yards for a touchdown before Vitale hit Messeroll with a 71-yard strike.

Meanwhile, Hamann, a 6-0, 210-pound fullback who carried 13 times for 47 yards, pounded for key yardage to keep the chains moving, especially in the second half.

“Vitale and Hamann are three-year starters, so all I have to do is show up and coach,’’ said Spotswood coach Andy Cammarano. “We play a lot of 15-year-old kids, so we’re young, but I am so proud of the game the whole team played.’’

Vitale, a roll-out quarterback, completed 5 of 9 passes for 152 yards and rushed 12 times for 61 yards. On the 71-yard TD strike, Vitale faked a run around right end, pulled up just as he reached the line of scrimmage and sailed a bomb to a wide-open Messeroll.

“Balance is the key to our team,’’ Vitale said. “We have a power game, we have the ability to get to the outside and we can throw. We did all of that today. It all came together.’’

South River, which received a 154-yard, two-touchdown performance by running back Taariq Phillips on 24 carries, turned the ball over three times and each one proved costly.

• Tied 7-7 with 10:47 left in the second quarter, Lawless returned an interception for a touchdown.

• Trying for the go-ahead score with 6:52 left in the first half, South River fumbled the ball on the Spotswood 7. Spotswood wound up scoring eight plays later on Vitale's second touchdown pass to Messeroll for a 21-7 lead.

• South River, which crept to within 21-13 with 3:38 left in the third quarter on a 67-yard drive, threw an interception with under a minute left in the game on a third-and-long from the Spotswood 39 after reaching the 29.

The Spotswood defense also came up big as it gang-tackled South River quarterback Dylan Hayes, who had tried to get to the outside on a fourth-and-two play at the Spotswood 20 with 9:05 left to play.

“We had a lot of kids in there, we rotated a lot of bodies,’’ Cammarano said, “and the kids made the plays when we had to on both sides of the ball.’’